1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode, and more particularly, to a light emitting diode, method of fabricating the same, and a liquid crystal display including the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used display devices because the LEDs have small size, low power consumption, high reliability and the like. A nitride semiconductor is used as a material of the LED.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a nitride semiconductor LED according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the nitride semiconductor LED 37 includes a buffer layer 23, an n (negative) type semiconductor layer 25, an active layer 27, a p (positive) type semiconductor layer 29, a transparent electrode 31, an n type metal electrode 35 and a p type metal electrode 33 that are on a substrate 21.
Since the nitride semiconductor LED 37 uses a sapphire substrate 21 of a insulator, the n type semiconductor layer 25 are partially etched in step shape in order to form the electrodes 33 and 35, and thus the electrodes are arranged in a Top-Top manner.
In other words, the n type metal electrode 35 is formed at a corner of the exposed n type semiconductor layer 25, and the p type metal electrode 33 is formed on the transparent electrode 31.
The nitride semiconductor LED 37 emits light through combination of holes from the p type metal electrode 33 and electrons from the n type metal electrode 35. The LED 37 are widely used for various field such as advertising boards, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and the like that require light sources.
However, since a light emitted from the LED 37 is a non-polarized light like a natural scattered light, for a display device such as an LCD that needs a specific polarized light, additional materials such as a polarizing plate is required.
However, in this case, the light from the LED 37 is lost by about 40 to 50% passing through the polarizing plate. Accordingly, brightness of the display device is reduced. To prevent the reduction of brightness, increasing luminance of light emitted from the LED 37 might be suggested. This, however, causes increase of power consumption.